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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

I really miss Amy Winehouse. I ran into this video today and it really hit me.

Monday I took daughters number 3 and 4 to the Crystal Bridges Museum. I was completely fascinated with the painting Summer Day by Frank Weston Benton, an artist who I was not familiar with but I am now a huge fan. I am going back Friday to stare at it again.

When I saw the painting it stopped me in my tracks. I literally stopped and gaped. Then I walked up and examined the brush strokes carefully, marveling at how what can be perceived as sloppy work up close makes such a striking, beautiful picture after stepping back a few feet. This painting makes me understand art theft.

I wrote about a song that really speaks to me and one moment in time in the post Powerful, Indelible, Perfect Memories from Music. How amazing is it that just a few notes can transport me back to a (probably very romanticized) memory when I was a teen.

I am constantly referring to, thinking about and being emotionally stripped by Robert Frost's Mending Wall. It is a driving force in my thoughts and conversations around the idea of extended networks and extended family. It also has influenced my thoughts on the problem with nationalism.

Here are some questions I ask you to ponder:

What art (music, painting, poetry, literature, etc) has created an emotional reaction in you?

Since emotions are tied closely to learning, what can you learn from that art?

Do you create opportunities for students to find or share art they have emotional reactions to?